Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) has spent years trying to reduce the costs of delivering packages. One of the earliest attempts was to cut out humans and trucks by using drones. Amazon has also tried to shave off delivery expenses by using its own drivers instead of those from UPS, the post office, or FedEx. The latest plan is to use robots to make deliveries.
24/7 Wall St. Key Points:
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Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) reportedly is testing humanoid delivery robots as a way to reduce the costs of delivering packages.
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The plan likely relies on the company’s prowess in artificial intelligence.
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The news service The Information reported that “AI-powered humanoid robots” would make deliveries. Amazon is testing delivery robots in a San Francisco warehouse.
Putting in a robot system may take years. To save a great deal of money, Amazon may have to combine robots with self-driving cars. Fully autonomous cars have not been approved for broad use yet.
The system could use Rivian vans. Amazon cut a deal to buy these vans when it invested in Rivian Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ: RIVN) in 2019. It said it planned to buy 100,000 Rivian vehicles. However, that deal has fallen apart.
If the robot system works, it may be because of Amazon’s overall progress in artificial intelligence (AI). The company recently said it would invest $10 billion in a North Carolina data center. It also said its total AI investment this year would be $100 billion.
A humanoid robot delivery system that works may result from Amazon’s AI prowess combined with its effort to cut e-commerce delivery time and costs.
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